Hot Topics:

The Girls Indoor Track & Field Team

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
04/01/2013 06:36:12 AM EDT

Bryanna Allison

Lowell

Athlete of the Year

Allison continued to be one of the best athletes to come out of LHS in quite some time with yet another astonishing track season. The senior dominated her opponents mostly in the 1,000 meters where she finished first at the MSTCA Elite Meet (2:55.16), the EMass. Division 1 Meet (2:57.90) and the All-State Meet.

At the All-States she ran a 2:53.32, which is the sixth fastest time in the country this season, the 12th fastest time ever by a Massachusetts female and the top time out of anyone in the state this year.

She also competed in the mile, taking first at the Boston Holiday Challenge and third at the Yale Track Classic, posting a season-best time of 5:06.03, which was best in the league.

Allison was named to the MVC All-Conference team for the third straight year. She will be attending Providence College in the fall with plans on continuing her athletic career.

Betsy Garnick

Bishop Guertin

Athlete of the Year

This is the second year in a row Garnick has garnered the Sun Athlete of the Year award. The senior, who resides in Pelham, had another season for the ages. She was named the New Hampshire Athlete of the Year and named to the N.H. All-State Team after winning three Division 1 individual titles. She captured the 55-meter hurdles and 55-meter dash for the second consecutive year, as well as taking the long jump title for the first time.

Advertisement

She broke her own state record time in the hurdles with an 8.01 seconds and then went on to win the New England championship title by running the state's second fastest time ever, as well as the seventh fastest time in the nation. In addition, she was a part of the New Hampshire state record 4x400 relay team (3:57.67).

Garnick will be headed to Northeastern University on a track scholarship.

Sarah Burke

Bishop Guertin

This is the fourth straight time Burke has made the Sun Indoor Track Team, and the Tyngsboro native was another important piece to Guertin's 11th straight New Hampshire Division 1 team championship title.

The senior was named an All-State selection after winning the 600-meter title for the second straight year with a time of 1:35.70, as well as being a part of the state-champion 4x400 relay team, which had a state record time of 3:57.67.

Burke went on to take third at the New England Championships in the 300. Besides her success in the 600 and relay team, she also competed in the 1,000 meters with a personal-best time of 2:57.95. She has committed to run track next year at Columbia University.

Alli Wood

Chelmsford

Wood is no stranger to Sun All-Star teams, making her third straight appearance in both cross country and now indoor track. This past season, the junior was undefeated in dual meets in both the 600 and 1,000 and led the Lions' team in scoring.

Then in the post-season she set a school record in the 600 with her fourth-place finish at the Division 1 Meet with a time of 1:38.11, before going on to take eighth place at the All-State Meet.

Besides cross country and indoor track, Wood is also a member of the varsity lacrosse team.

Erin Dietz

Bedford

After a tremendous season for the cross country program, Dietz had a phenomenal individual track season that saw her capture the MSTCA Coaches Elite, Dual County League, EMass. Division 4 and All-State championships in the two mile, with a personal-best time of 10:38.12.

That time ranked her seventh nationally, and although she qualified for both the New England and National meets, she chose not to compete.

Besides setting a school record in the two mile, she also accomplished that feat in both the 1,000 (3:05.23) and mile (5:03.91). Dietz is a three-season runner, participating in cross country and outdoor track as well.

Maya Jarostchuk

Acton-Boxboro

A senior, Jarostchuk has been a fixture on the Sun's teams through the years. She has been a huge part of the success for the A-B indoor and outdoor track teams, and this year was no different. She excelled in two events, the 300 and as part of the 4x400 relay team. In the 300, she finished first at the DCL championship, second at the EMass. Division 1 and All-State Meet, and 10th at the New Englands, with a personal-best time of 40.45.

The 4x400 relay team also had success, including finishing first at the DCL Meet, third at the Division 1 Meet, fourth at the All-States and 16th in New England, with a season-best time of 4:03.32.

Jarostchuk, a DCL All-Star, is also a member of the A-B soccer team. She plans to run at Dartmouth College.

Lydia Lyman

Alvirne

A junior, Lyman broke two individual school records and another one as part of a relay team this year. At the N.H. Division 1 State Meet, she first competed in the 3,000-meter race and finished fourth with a time of 10:50.93 and then she came back to participate in the 1,500-meter race, where she finished fifth in the state with a time of 5:06.30.

Those performances earned her a spot on the All-New Hampshire team. She also qualified for the state meet in a third event, the 1,000 meters.

She broke the school record in the 3,000 with a time of 10:49.30, a record that was held for 30 years. She also broke the record in the 1,500 at 4:59.4 and was part of the 1,600-meter distance medley team, which also now has the school's best time.

Karina Shepard

Dracut

Shepard's performance at the Division 2 EMass. Meet could easily go down as one of the most dominating performances from an individual in quite some time. She started it out with a meet-record time of 2:55.40 with her first-place finish in the 1,000 meters and followed that up with a dramatic come-from-behind finish to lead the Middies' 4x400 relay team to a meet record, first-place time of 9:38.82, including a 2:15 split.

She went on to finish second at the All-State Meet in the 1,000, which set a school record with a time of 2:54.47, before advancing to the New Englands to finish ninth and the Nationals, where she was clocked at 2:15.34 in the 800.

Shepard, a junior, has a 4.55 GPA and ranks ninth academically in her class. She's also a Rotary Youth Leadership Award winner and serves as an assistant Sunday school teacher.

Julia Gregory

Concord-Carlisle

Just a junior, Gregory was one of several key athletes to lead the Patriots to a Dual County League championship title this winter. At that DCL meet she finished as the league's best in the 600 and also was part of the second-place 4x400 relay team.

Then in the postseason, she finished second at the Division 2 Meet in the 600 with her season-best time of 1:37.66 and was a part of the third-place relay team, which also went on to finish sixth at the All-State Meet and 15th at the New Englands.

Caitlin Lawlor

Concord-Carlisle

Another junior, Lawlor is one of the top distance runners in the area.

She was a Dual County League champion in the 1,000 meters with a school-record time of 3:05.97. She went on to finish fifth at the EMass. Division 2 Meet.

Additionally, Lawlor was a key member of the 4x800 relay team which finished fifth at the Division 2 Meet, fourth at the All-States and ninth at the New England Championships, with a season's best time of 9:37.53.

Kaley Richards

Lowell

Just a freshman, Richards kept up the strong momentum after an incredible cross country season. Indoors, she competed in a number of different events from the 600 to the two mile. In the 600-yard run she posted the second-best time in the MVC at 1:32.1 and in the 1,000 she finished first at the MSTCA Meet with a time of 3:04.02. Her best time in the two mile was 11:42.88.

But she had her most success in the mile, including taking fourth place at the EMass. Division 1 Meet and sixth at the All-States, including bettering her time by over five seconds in the latter.

Richards was also named to the MVC All-Conference team and is an honor roll student at LHS.

Julie Schultz

Billerica

A three-sport runner, Schultz helped lead Billerica High to a 5-0 record and a Merrimack Valley Conference Division 2 championship title this past winter. She had her most success in the two mile, finishing fifth at the Division 1 Meet, seventh at the All-State meet and 20th at the New England Meet, with a personal-best time of 11:22.96. Additionally, she finished eighth at the Dartmouth Relay Meet.

Besides competing on the cross country, and indoor and outdoor track teams, Schultz is one of the top-ranked students her in class academically.

Christine Davis

Acton-Boxboro

Davis has been one of the top distance runners around for the past four years, really excelling in cross country, but she had another terrific season on the track. The senior was the best two-mile runner in the Dual County League, winning the championship title, before going on to finish sixth at Division 1, fourth at the All-States and 11th in New England.

Her best time of the season came at the All-States in 11:19.28.

Besides indoor track, Davis also excels in cross country and outdoor track, while she is also a National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society member.

Emily Ruggiero

Westford

Already committed to run at UMass Amherst on a scholarship, Ruggiero went out with a bang in her final indoor track season.

She mostly stood out in the two mile, where she finished second at the Dual County League championship meet, seventh at the Division 1 EMass. Meet, before rallying back to take fifth at the All-States and then 19th at the New England Meet with a season-best time of 11:19.95.

Ruggiero is also a member of the cross country and outdoor track teams, and is one of the top students in her class.

Cullen Hagan

Billerica

Coach of the Year

Back in 1998 Hagan was named the Sun's Athlete of the Year after he excelled in cross country and indoor and outdoor track while at Billerica Memorial High School. Now, 15 years later, he has been named the Coach of the Year after guiding the Indians to a 5-0 regular season record, which included winning the MVC Division 2 championship title.

After graduating from BMHS, Hagan went on to run four years at Stonehill College, graduating in 2002, and he started coaching winter track at BMHS that year. This indoor season marked his 30th season of coaching between cross country, and indoor and outdoor track.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.